Growing horseradish on the site does not present any difficulties, especially for an experienced gardener. The plant is characterized by an unpretentious nature, and there are so many benefits from it that you simply can not do without this product in your garden.
Basic care techniques will provide you with a regular crop, and if you take care of the plant with love and attention, the result will exceed all expectations. The leaves will be large and saturated green, while no pests or diseases will cause damage to the crop.
general information
Growing horseradish is a kind of tradition for Slavic gardeners. After all, when the time comes to harvesting for the winter, this particular product is most popular, and it is very convenient when it is always at hand, and even fresh.
As a member of the cabbage plant family, horseradish has large leaves and an edible root with a specific taste. The plant came to us from the Mediterranean. It can grow both in garden areas and in the wild. It prefers moist soil, so it can often be found near water bodies.
A feature of the plant is not only its spicy taste, but also its richness in nutrients. Both leaves and roots contain such elements:
- vitamins;
- ascorbic and nicotinic acid;
- carotene;
- lysozyme;
- volatile;
- Alyl mustard oil.
From the components of horseradish, preparations are prepared for the treatment of colds, flu, for the prevention of scurvy, inflammation, tumors, etc. You can list all the benefits of this plant for a very long time, but today our goal is to familiarize the reader with the rules for caring for the plant.
Horseradish cultivation
The plant is well tolerated by frost and easily hibernates without harm to the crop. Without transplanting, you can grow it up to ten years. But still, the youngest plant is distinguished by the most saturated taste. A very beneficial factor is that no matter what your soil is on the site, you can grow horseradish everywhere.
At the same time, cultivation and care will not differ much from fertile lands, where everything grows on its own. The same can be said about lighting. Shadow, sun, and partial shade will suit him. If there is a choice, it is recommended to plant the plant in partial shade with a moist bud, where humus is present. Well horseradish refers to the recharge of organic fertilizers. For this purpose, you can use both manure and peat. And if you add a mineral complex later, it will strengthen the plant even better. Although even without special feeding, it will grow, just not as magnificent as it could. To get the roots, you need to wait for autumn, and only then dig up the bush.
Training
In order to plant new bushes of a plant such as horseradish, the growing conditions of which we describe, you need to prepare planting material. The seed method is not used, since the plant very rarely gives seeds. Gardeners prefer the cuttings method. Cuttings should be from twenty to thirty centimeters long with a stem with a diameter of not less than a centimeter. Choose only strong roots, removing all excess parts.
After you pick up the right amount of cuttings, tie them into a bunch and place in a cool place for storage until spring. It can be a basement or a barn. It is recommended to sprinkle the roots with sawdust or sand so that the development of the roots does not begin before they are planted in the soil.
With the onset of spring, the cuttings must be moved to a room warmer and covered with a damp cloth. Planting cuttings in a greenhouse is also allowed. Immediately before planting, it is necessary to prepare a stalk. To do this, cut the upper part at a right angle, and the bottom - obliquely. As soon as the stalk planted in the soil sprouts, it is important to remove them in the middle part of the plant. The upper shoots subsequently turn into leaves, and the lower ones into roots. If this is not done, then the plant will be too branched.
Landing
By the way, the industrial cultivation of horseradish is almost the same as home-grown. Only the scale is different. To plant cuttings, you need to prepare a place in advance.
- You can plant cuttings in the middle of spring, but you can do this in the summer.
- Dig the ground to the depth of the shovel bayonet while adding fertilizer. You can sprinkle humus, as well as add mineral fertilizers.
- Water the planting bed.
- When choosing a place, take into account the fact that the beds where tomatoes, potatoes or cucumbers used to grow are ideal. It is also necessary to plant horseradish away from other plants, so most often it can be seen along the fence.
- You need to plant the stalk in loose soil using a peg or wand. After deepening it into the ground at an angle, they pull it out and plant a stalk in the hole formed. In this case, the oblique section is in the ground.
- It is recommended to maintain a distance of about thirty centimeters between the bushes for normal growth and development of the plant.
- After all the cuttings have been planted, tamp the soil well so that all the seedlings are well rooted.
Plant care
As already mentioned, growing horseradish does not require excessive care efforts. It is necessary to weed the bed, removing weed plants, as well as loosen the soil for air access to the root system. If you notice that the earth is very dry, then you need to water the garden, because horseradish loves moisture. Diseases and pests rarely attack this plant, but sometimes it can be affected by powdery mildew or aphids. In this case, the use of standard means to combat uninvited guests is recommended, depending on the problem.
Harvesting
Growing horseradish in the country is not only care, but also timely, proper harvest. In the fall, digging out the roots for consumption or reproduction, you can also thin out the bed immediately. The fact is that horseradish is growing rapidly, and you may encounter an excessive amount of it if you do not thin out and dig out the extra bushes in time. Therefore, when harvesting, immediately analyze which bushes can and should be removed to keep the plant within its borders.